Prioritizing Media Content Requests

ABSTRACT

Example techniques relate to prioritizing media content requests. An example implementation involves a computing system receives an explicit request to play back a playlist on one or more playback devices of a media playback system. The computing system causes the playback devices to play back a given audio track of the playlist. While the playback devices are playing back first tracks of the playlist, the computing system receives one or more implicit requests for second audio tracks in the playlist. While the playback devices are playing back the second audio tracks of the playlist, the computing system receives an explicit request to play back audio content on a mobile device. The computing system determines that the request to play back the audio content on the mobile device is a higher priority than the requests for second audio tracks and switches playback from the playback devices to the mobile device.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. § 120 to, and is acontinuation of, U.S. non-provisional patent application Ser. No.15/592,484, filed on May 11, 2017, entitled “Prioritizing Media ContentRequests,” which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

U.S. non-provisional patent application Ser. No. 15/592,484 claimspriority under 35 U.S.C. § 120 to, and is a continuation of, U.S.non-provisional patent application Ser. No. 14/485,602, filed on Sep.12, 2014, entitled “Prioritizing Media Content Requests,” and issued asU.S. Pat. No. 9,720,642 on Aug. 1, 2017, which is incorporated herein byreference in its entirety.

U.S. non-provisional patent application Ser. No. 14/485,602 claims thebenefit under 35 U.S.C. § 119 of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No.62/027,215, filed Jul. 21, 2014, the contents of which are incorporatedherein by reference in their entirety.

U.S. non-provisional patent application Ser. No. 14/485,602 also claimsthe benefit under 35 U.S.C. § 119 of U.S. Provisional Patent ApplicationNo. 62/007,906, filed Jun. 4, 2014, the contents of which areincorporated herein by reference in their entirety.

FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE

The disclosure is related to consumer goods and, more particularly, tomethods, systems, products, features, services, and other elementsdirected to media playback or some aspect thereof.

BACKGROUND

Options for accessing and listening to digital audio in an out-loudsetting were limited until in 2003, when SONOS, Inc. filed for one ofits first patent applications, entitled “Method for Synchronizing AudioPlayback between Multiple Networked Devices,” and began offering a mediaplayback system for sale in 2005. The Sonos Wireless HiFi System enablespeople to experience music from many sources via one or more networkedplayback devices. Through a software control application installed on asmartphone, tablet, or computer, one can play what he or she wants inany room that has a networked playback device. Additionally, using thecontroller, for example, different songs can be streamed to each roomwith a playback device, rooms can be grouped together for synchronousplayback, or the same song can be heard in all rooms synchronously.

Given the ever growing interest in digital media, there continues to bea need to develop consumer-accessible technologies to further enhancethe listening experience.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Features, aspects, and advantages of the presently disclosed technologymay be better understood with regard to the following description,appended claims, and accompanying drawings where:

FIG. 1 shows an example media playback system configuration in whichcertain embodiments may be practiced;

FIG. 2 shows a functional block diagram of an example playback device;

FIG. 3 shows a functional block diagram of an example control device;

FIG. 4 shows an example controller interface;

FIG. 5 shows an example flow diagram of an example method;

FIG. 6A shows example devices and systems for practicing examplemethods;

FIG. 6B shows example devices and systems for practicing examplemethods;

FIG. 6C shows example devices and systems for practicing examplemethods;

FIG. 7 shows an example sequence of playback operations;

FIG. 8 shows an example sequence of playback operations;

FIG. 9 shows an example flow diagram of an example method;

FIG. 10 shows an example flow diagram of an example method;

FIG. 11 shows an example flow diagram of an example method; and

FIG. 12 shows an example flow diagram of an example method.

The drawings are for the purpose of illustrating example embodiments,but it is understood that the inventions are not limited to thearrangements and instrumentality shown in the drawings.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION I. Overview

In some situations, a service provider may limit a quantity of mediastreams that a given account may simultaneously stream to media playbackdevices that are associated with the given account. Disclosed herein are(i) example methods by which a computing system associated with themedia service provider may determine whether to provide media contentrequested by the media playback devices and (ii) example methods bywhich the media playback devices may provide information to be used bythe computing system (e.g., a server or another media playback device)in making such determinations.

For example, an account of a service provider may be limited to onestream at a time. In an example situation, the account may be associatedwith a first playback device and a second playback device. That is, thefirst and second media playback devices may authenticate with thecomputing system using login credentials associated with the account. Insome examples, the first playback device may send to the computingsystem a first request to receive first media content. The secondplayback device may send to the computing system a second request toreceive second media content. In some cases, the computing system maysend the first media content to the first playback device such that thefirst playback device finishes or otherwise stops playback of the firstmedia content before the second request is received by the computingsystem. In other examples, the first request and the second request maybe received by the computing system simultaneously, or the secondrequest may be received while the computing device is sending the firstmedia content to the first playback device.

Thus, multiple requests that may otherwise result in several playbackdevices associated with the account simultaneously receiving mediacontent for playback may conflict with the limit of one stream placed onthe account. In this case, the computing system may determine whether tosend (or continue sending) the first media content to the first playbackdevice, or alternatively, to send the second media content to the secondmedia playback device.

In one example, the first and second requests may respectively includeinformation characterizing first and second playback operationsassociated with the first and second requests. For instance, the firstplayback device may receive a command (e.g., from a control device) toplay back first media content immediately, and then the first playbackdevice may request the computing system to send the first media contentto the first playback device.

Alternatively, while executing playback of a queue of multiple items ofmedia content that includes the second media content, the secondplayback device may determine that playback of media content precedingthe second media content in the queue may be nearing an end. Then, thesecond playback device may send the second request for the second mediacontent to the computing system so that the second playback device mayplay back the second media content in accordance with the queue. In sucha situation, the computing system may determine that the first requestshould be fulfilled instead of the second request, because the firstrequest may represent a playback operation associated with a commandmore recently received than that of the second playback operation.

In another example, the first playback device may be included in a firstgroup of playback devices that includes one or more playback devices andthe second playback device may be included in a second group of playbackdevices that also includes one or more playback devices. Here, the firstrequest may indicate a time at which a playback command was lastreceived by any playback device of the first group of playback devicesand the second request may indicate a time at which a playback commandwas last received by any playback device of the second group of playbackdevices. Then, the computing system may provide the first media contentto the first playback device instead of providing the second mediacontent to the second playback device, because the command to play thefirst media content immediately was more recently received than thecommand to play back the second media content after playing other mediacontent preceding the second media content in the playback queue.

In one aspect, a method is provided. The method involves detecting, by amedia playback system, a command for at least one playback device of themedia playback system to perform a sequence of one or more playbackoperations; and sending, by the media playback system to a computingsystem, a request for media content related to at least one playbackoperation of the sequence of one or more playback operations, where therequest includes information characterizing the at least one playbackoperation.

In another aspect, a non-transitory computer-readable medium isprovided. The non-transitory computer-readable medium has stored thereoninstructions executable by a media playback system to cause the mediaplayback system to perform functions. The functions include detecting acommand for at least one playback device of the media playback system toperform a sequence of one or more playback operations; and sending, to acomputing system, a request for media content related to at least oneplayback operation of the sequence of one or more playback operations,where the request includes information characterizing the at least oneplayback operation.

In yet another aspect, a media playback system is provided. The mediaplayback system includes a processor and a non-transitorycomputer-readable medium storing instructions that when executed by themedia playback system cause the media playback system to performfunctions comprising: detecting a command for at least one playbackdevice of the media playback system to perform a sequence of one or moreplayback operations; and sending, to a computing system, a request formedia content related to at least one playback operation of the sequenceof one or more playback operations, where the request includesinformation characterizing the at least one playback operation.

In another aspect, a method is provided. The method involves detecting,by a media playback system, a playback command for at least one playbackdevice of the media playback system to perform a sequence of one or moreplayback operations; and sending, by the media playback system to acomputing system, a request for media content related to at least oneplayback operation of the sequence of one or more playback operations,where the request indicates a time that a playback command was lastdetected by any of the at least one playback devices.

In yet another aspect, a non-transitory computer-readable medium isprovided. The non-transitory computer-readable medium has stored thereoninstructions executable by a media playback system to cause the mediaplayback system to perform functions. The functions include detecting aplayback command for at least one playback device of the media playbacksystem to perform a sequence of one or more playback operations; andsending, to a computing system, a request for media content related toat least one playback operation of the sequence of one or more playbackoperations, where the request indicates a time that a playback commandwas last detected by any of the at least one playback devices.

In another aspect, a media playback system is provided. The mediaplayback system includes a processor and a computer-readable mediumstoring instructions that when executed by the media playback systemcause the media playback system to perform functions comprising:detecting a playback command for at least one playback device of themedia playback system to perform a sequence of one or more playbackoperations; and sending, to a computing system, a request for mediacontent related to at least one playback operation of the sequence ofone or more playback operations, where the request indicates a time thata playback command was last detected by any of the at least one playbackdevices.

In another aspect, the disclosure includes a method that comprisesreceiving, by a computing system from a first playback device, a firstrequest for first media content, where the first request includesinformation characterizing a first playback operation and the firstplayback device is associated with an account of the media serviceprovider, and where the computing system is associated with a mediaservice provider; receiving, by the computing system from a secondplayback device, a second request for second media content, where thesecond request includes information characterizing a second playbackoperation and the second playback device is associated with the accountof the media service provider; determining, by the computing system,that the first playback operation has a higher priority than the secondplayback operation based on the received information characterizing thefirst playback operation and the received information characterizing thesecond playback operation; and after determining that the first playbackoperation has a higher priority, sending, by the computing system, thefirst media content to the first playback device.

In yet another aspect, a non-transitory computer-readable medium isprovided. The non-transitory computer-readable medium has stored thereoninstructions executable by a computing system to cause the computingsystem to perform functions. The computing system is associated with amedia service provider. The functions include receiving, from a firstplayback device, a first request for first media content, where thefirst request includes information characterizing a first playbackoperation and the first playback device is associated with an account ofthe media service provider; receiving, from a second playback device, asecond request for second media content, where the second requestincludes information characterizing a second playback operation and thesecond playback device is associated with the account of the mediaservice provider; determining that the first playback operation has ahigher priority than the second playback operation based on the receivedinformation characterizing the first playback operation and the receivedinformation characterizing the second playback operation; and afterdetermining that the first playback operation has a higher priority,sending the first media content to the first playback device.

In yet another aspect, a computing system associated with a mediaservice provider is provided. The computing system includes a processorand a computer-readable medium storing instructions that when executedby the computing system cause the computing device to perform functionscomprising: receiving, from a first playback device, a first request forfirst media content, where the first request includes informationcharacterizing a first playback operation and the first playback deviceis associated with an account of the media service provider; receiving,from a second playback device, a second request for second mediacontent, where the second request includes information characterizing asecond playback operation and the second playback device is associatedwith the account of the media service provider; determining that thefirst playback operation has a higher priority than the second playbackoperation based on the received information characterizing the firstplayback operation and the received information characterizing thesecond playback operation; and after determining that the first playbackoperation has a higher priority, sending the first media content to thefirst playback device.

In another aspect, the disclosure includes a method that comprisesreceiving, by a computing system associated with a media serviceprovider from a first playback device associated with an account of themedia service provider, a first request for first media content relatedto a first playback operation, where the first request indicates a timethat a playback command was last received by any playback device of afirst group of one or more playback devices that includes the firstplayback device; receiving, by the computing system from a secondplayback device associated with the account, a second request for secondmedia content related to a second playback operation, where the secondrequest indicates a time that a playback command was last received byany playback device of a second group of one or more playback devicesthat includes the second playback device; determining that the firstgroup received a playback command more recently than the second group;and sending the first media content to the first playback device.

In yet another aspect, a non-transitory computer-readable medium isprovided. The non-transitory computer-readable medium has stored thereoninstructions executable by a computing system to cause the computingsystem to perform functions. The computing system is associated with amedia service provider. The functions include receiving, from a firstplayback device associated with an account of the media serviceprovider, a first request for first media content related to a firstplayback operation, where the first request indicates a time that aplayback command was last received by any playback device of a firstgroup of one or more playback devices that includes the first playbackdevice; receiving, from a second playback device associated with theaccount, a second request for second media content related to a secondplayback operation, where the second request indicates a time that aplayback command was last received by any playback device of a secondgroup of one or more playback devices that includes the second playbackdevice; determining that the first group received a playback commandmore recently than the second group; and sending the first media contentto the first playback device.

In yet another aspect, a computing system associated with a mediaservice provider is provided. The computing system includes a processorand a computer-readable medium storing instructions that when executedby the computing system cause the computing device to perform functionscomprising: receiving, from a first playback device associated with anaccount of the media service provider, a first request for first mediacontent related to a first playback operation, where the first requestindicates a time that a playback command was last received by anyplayback device of a first group of one or more playback devices thatincludes the first playback device; receiving, from a second playbackdevice associated with the account, a second request for second mediacontent related to a second playback operation, where the second requestindicates a time that a playback command was last received by anyplayback device of a second group of one or more playback devices thatincludes the second playback device; determining that the first groupreceived a playback command more recently than the second group; andsending the first media content to the first playback device.

In yet another aspect, a method is provided that includes receiving, bya computing system from a playback device, a request for media content,where the request includes information characterizing a playbackoperation and the playback device is associated with an account of themedia service provider; determining whether to provide the media contentbased on the received information characterizing the playback operation;and sending the media content to the playback device.

In yet another aspect, a non-transitory computer-readable medium isprovided. The non-transitory computer-readable medium has stored thereoninstructions executable by a computing system to cause the computingsystem to perform functions. The computing system is associated with amedia service provider. The functions include receiving, from a playbackdevice, a request for media content, where the request includesinformation characterizing a playback operation and the playback deviceis associated with an account of the media service provider; determiningwhether to provide the media content based on the received informationcharacterizing the playback operation; and sending the media content tothe playback device.

In yet another aspect, a computing system associated with a mediaservice provider is provided. The computing system includes a processorand a computer-readable medium storing instructions that when executedby the computing system cause the computing device to perform functionscomprising: receiving, from a playback device, a request for mediacontent, where the request includes information characterizing aplayback operation and the playback device is associated with an accountof the media service provider; determining whether to provide the mediacontent based on the received information characterizing the playbackoperation; and sending the media content to the playback device.

It will be understood by one of ordinary skill in the art that thisdisclosure includes numerous other embodiments. While some examplesdescribed herein may refer to functions performed by given actors suchas “users” and/or other entities, it should be understood that this isfor purposes of explanation only. The claims should not be interpretedto require action by any such example actor unless explicitly requiredby the language of the claims themselves.

II. Example Operating Environment

FIG. 1 shows an example configuration of a media playback system 100 inwhich one or more embodiments disclosed herein may be practiced orimplemented. The media playback system 100 as shown is associated withan example home environment having several rooms and spaces, such as forexample, a master bedroom, an office, a dining room, and a living room.As shown in the example of FIG. 1, the media playback system 100includes playback devices 102-124, control devices 126 and 128, and awired or wireless network router 130.

Further discussions relating to the different components of the examplemedia playback system 100 and how the different components may interactto provide a user with a media experience may be found in the followingsections. While discussions herein may generally refer to the examplemedia playback system 100, technologies described herein are not limitedto applications within, among other things, the home environment asshown in FIG. 1. For instance, the technologies described herein may beuseful in environments where multi-zone audio may be desired, such as,for example, a commercial setting like a restaurant, mall or airport, avehicle like a sports utility vehicle (SUV), bus or car, a ship or boat,an airplane, and so on.

a. Example Playback Devices

FIG. 2 shows a functional block diagram of an example playback device200 that may be configured to be one or more of the playback devices102-124 of the media playback system 100 of FIG. 1. The playback device200 may include a processor 202, software components 204, memory 206,audio processing components 208, audio amplifier(s) 210, speaker(s) 212,and a network interface 214 including wireless interface(s) 216 andwired interface(s) 218. In one case, the playback device 200 might notinclude the speaker(s) 212, but rather a speaker interface forconnecting the playback device 200 to external speakers. In anothercase, the playback device 200 may include neither the speaker(s) 212 northe audio amplifier(s) 210, but rather an audio interface for connectingthe playback device 200 to an external audio amplifier or audio-visualreceiver.

In one example, the processor 202 may be a clock-driven computingcomponent configured to process input data according to instructionsstored in the memory 206. The memory 206 may be a tangiblecomputer-readable medium configured to store instructions executable bythe processor 202. For instance, the memory 206 may be data storage thatcan be loaded with one or more of the software components 204 executableby the processor 202 to achieve certain functions. In one example, thefunctions may involve the playback device 200 retrieving audio data froman audio source or another playback device. In another example, thefunctions may involve the playback device 200 sending audio data toanother device or playback device on a network. In yet another example,the functions may involve pairing of the playback device 200 with one ormore playback devices to create a multi-channel audio environment.

Certain functions may involve the playback device 200 synchronizingplayback of audio content with one or more other playback devices.During synchronous playback, a listener will preferably not be able toperceive time-delay differences between playback of the audio content bythe playback device 200 and the one or more other playback devices. U.S.Pat. No. 8,234,395 entitled, “System and method for synchronizingoperations among a plurality of independently clocked digital dataprocessing devices,” which is hereby incorporated by reference, providesin more detail some examples for audio playback synchronization amongplayback devices.

The memory 206 may further be configured to store data associated withthe playback device 200, such as one or more zones and/or zone groupsthe playback device 200 is a part of, audio sources accessible by theplayback device 200, or a playback queue that the playback device 200(or some other playback device) may be associated with. The data may bestored as one or more state variables that are periodically updated andused to describe the state of the playback device 200. The memory 206may also include the data associated with the state of the other devicesof the media system, and shared from time to time among the devices sothat one or more of the devices have the most recent data associatedwith the system. Other embodiments are also possible.

The audio processing components 208 may include one or moredigital-to-analog converters (DAC), an audio preprocessing component, anaudio enhancement component or a digital signal processor (DSP), and soon. In one embodiment, one or more of the audio processing components208 may be a subcomponent of the processor 202. In one example, audiocontent may be processed and/or intentionally altered by the audioprocessing components 208 to produce audio signals. The produced audiosignals may then be provided to the audio amplifier(s) 210 foramplification and playback through speaker(s) 212. Particularly, theaudio amplifier(s) 210 may include devices configured to amplify audiosignals to a level for driving one or more of the speakers 212. Thespeaker(s) 212 may include an individual transducer (e.g., a “driver”)or a complete speaker system involving an enclosure with one or moredrivers. A particular driver of the speaker(s) 212 may include, forexample, a subwoofer (e.g., for low frequencies), a mid-range driver(e.g., for middle frequencies), and/or a tweeter (e.g., for highfrequencies). In some cases, each transducer in the one or more speakers212 may be driven by an individual corresponding audio amplifier of theaudio amplifier(s) 210. In addition to producing analog signals forplayback by the playback device 200, the audio processing components 208may be configured to process audio content to be sent to one or moreother playback devices for playback.

Audio content to be processed and/or played back by the playback device200 may be received from an external source, such as via an audioline-in input connection (e.g., an auto-detecting 3.5 mm audio line-inconnection) or the network interface 214.

The network interface 214 may be configured to facilitate a data flowbetween the playback device 200 and one or more other devices on a datanetwork. As such, the playback device 200 may be configured to receiveaudio content over the data network from one or more other playbackdevices in communication with the playback device 200, network deviceswithin a local area network, or audio content sources over a wide areanetwork such as the Internet. In one example, the audio content andother signals transmitted and received by the playback device 200 may betransmitted in the form of digital packet data containing an InternetProtocol (IP)-based source address and IP-based destination addresses.In such a case, the network interface 214 may be configured to parse thedigital packet data such that the data destined for the playback device200 is properly received and processed by the playback device 200.

As shown, the network interface 214 may include wireless interface(s)216 and wired interface(s) 218. The wireless interface(s) 216 mayprovide network interface functions for the playback device 200 towirelessly communicate with other devices (e.g., other playbackdevice(s), speaker(s), receiver(s), network device(s), control device(s)within a data network the playback device 200 is associated with) inaccordance with a communication protocol (e.g., any wireless standardincluding IEEE 802.11a, 802.11b, 802.11g, 802.11n, 802.11ac, 802.15, 4Gmobile communication standard, and so on). The wired interface(s) 218may provide network interface functions for the playback device 200 tocommunicate over a wired connection with other devices in accordancewith a communication protocol (e.g., IEEE 802.3). While the networkinterface 214 shown in FIG. 2 includes both wireless interface(s) 216and wired interface(s) 218, the network interface 214 may in someembodiments include only wireless interface(s) or only wiredinterface(s).

In one example, the playback device 200 and one other playback devicemay be paired to play two separate audio components of audio content.For instance, playback device 200 may be configured to play a leftchannel audio component, while the other playback device may beconfigured to play a right channel audio component, thereby producing orenhancing a stereo effect of the audio content. The paired playbackdevices (also referred to as “bonded playback devices”) may further playaudio content in synchrony with other playback devices.

In another example, the playback device 200 may be sonicallyconsolidated with one or more other playback devices to form a single,consolidated playback device. A consolidated playback device may beconfigured to process and reproduce sound differently than anunconsolidated playback device or playback devices that are paired,because a consolidated playback device may have additional speakerdrivers through which audio content may be rendered. For instance, ifthe playback device 200 is a playback device designed to render lowfrequency range audio content (i.e. a subwoofer), the playback device200 may be consolidated with a playback device designed to render fullfrequency range audio content. In such a case, the full frequency rangeplayback device, when consolidated with the low frequency playbackdevice 200, may be configured to render only the mid and high frequencycomponents of audio content, while the low frequency range playbackdevice 200 renders the low frequency component of the audio content. Theconsolidated playback device may further be paired with a singleplayback device or yet another consolidated playback device.

By way of illustration, SONOS, Inc. presently offers (or has offered)for sale certain playback devices including a “PLAY:1,” “PLAY:3,”“PLAY:5,” “PLAYBAR,” “CONNECT:AMP,” “CONNECT,” and “SUB.” Any otherpast, present, and/or future playback devices may additionally oralternatively be used to implement the playback devices of exampleembodiments disclosed herein. Additionally, it is understood that aplayback device is not limited to the example illustrated in FIG. 2 orto the SONOS product offerings. For example, a playback device mayinclude a wired or wireless headphone. In another example, a playbackdevice may include or interact with a docking station for personalmobile media playback devices. In yet another example, a playback devicemay be integral to another device or component such as a television, alighting fixture, or some other device for indoor or outdoor use.

b. Example Playback Zone Configurations

Referring back to the media playback system 100 of FIG. 1, theenvironment may have one or more playback zones, each with one or moreplayback devices. The media playback system 100 may be established withone or more playback zones, after which one or more zones may be added,or removed to arrive at the example configuration shown in FIG. 1. Eachzone may be given a name according to a different room or space such asan office, bathroom, master bedroom, bedroom, kitchen, dining room,living room, and/or balcony. In one case, a single playback zone mayinclude multiple rooms or spaces. In another case, a single room orspace may include multiple playback zones.

As shown in FIG. 1, the balcony, dining room, kitchen, bathroom, office,and bedroom zones each have one playback device, while the living roomand master bedroom zones each have multiple playback devices. In theliving room zone, playback devices 104, 106, 108, and 110 may beconfigured to play audio content in synchrony as individual playbackdevices, as one or more bonded playback devices, as one or moreconsolidated playback devices, or any combination thereof. Similarly, inthe case of the master bedroom, playback devices 122 and 124 may beconfigured to play audio content in synchrony as individual playbackdevices, as a bonded playback device, or as a consolidated playbackdevice.

In one example, one or more playback zones in the environment of FIG. 1may each be playing different audio content. For instance, the user maybe grilling in the balcony zone and listening to hip hop music beingplayed by the playback device 102 while another user may be preparingfood in the kitchen zone and listening to classical music being playedby the playback device 114. In another example, a playback zone may playthe same audio content in synchrony with another playback zone. Forinstance, the user may be in the office zone where the playback device118 is playing the same rock music that is being playing by playbackdevice 102 in the balcony zone. In such a case, playback devices 102 and118 may be playing the rock music in synchrony such that the user mayseamlessly (or at least substantially seamlessly) enjoy the audiocontent that is being played out-loud while moving between differentplayback zones. Synchronization among playback zones may be achieved ina manner similar to that of synchronization among playback devices, asdescribed in previously referenced U.S. Pat. No. 8,234,395.

As suggested above, the zone configurations of the media playback system100 may be dynamically modified, and in some embodiments, the mediaplayback system 100 supports numerous configurations. For instance, if auser physically moves one or more playback devices to or from a zone,the media playback system 100 may be reconfigured to accommodate thechange(s). For instance, if the user physically moves the playbackdevice 102 from the balcony zone to the office zone, the office zone maynow include both the playback device 118 and the playback device 102.The playback device 102 may be paired or grouped with the office zoneand/or renamed if so desired via a control device such as the controldevices 126 and 128. On the other hand, if the one or more playbackdevices are moved to a particular area in the home environment that isnot already a playback zone, a new playback zone may be created for theparticular area.

Further, different playback zones of the media playback system 100 maybe dynamically combined into zone groups or split up into individualplayback zones. For instance, the dining room zone and the kitchen zone114 may be combined into a zone group for a dinner party such thatplayback devices 112 and 114 may render audio content in synchrony. Onthe other hand, the living room zone may be split into a television zoneincluding playback device 104, and a listening zone including playbackdevices 106, 108, and 110, if the user wishes to listen to music in theliving room space while another user wishes to watch television.

c. Example Control Devices

FIG. 3 shows a functional block diagram of an example control device 300that may be configured to be one or both of the control devices 126 and128 of the media playback system 100. As shown, the control device 300may include a processor 302, memory 304, a network interface 306, and auser interface 308. In one example, the control device 300 may be adedicated controller for the media playback system 100. In anotherexample, the control device 300 may be a network device on which mediaplayback system controller application software may be installed, suchas for example, an iPhone™, iPad™ or any other smart phone, tablet ornetwork device (e.g., a networked computer such as a PC or Mac™).

The processor 302 may be configured to perform functions relevant tofacilitating user access, control, and configuration of the mediaplayback system 100. The memory 304 may be configured to storeinstructions executable by the processor 302 to perform those functions.The memory 304 may also be configured to store the media playback systemcontroller application software and other data associated with the mediaplayback system 100 and the user.

In one example, the network interface 306 may be based on an industrystandard (e.g., infrared, radio, wired standards including IEEE 802.3,wireless standards including IEEE 802.11a, 802.11b, 802.11g, 802.11n,802.11ac, 802.15, 4G mobile communication standard, and so on). Thenetwork interface 306 may provide a means for the control device 300 tocommunicate with other devices in the media playback system 100. In oneexample, data and information (e.g., such as a state variable) may becommunicated between control device 300 and other devices via thenetwork interface 306. For instance, playback zone and zone groupconfigurations in the media playback system 100 may be received by thecontrol device 300 from a playback device or another network device, ortransmitted by the control device 300 to another playback device ornetwork device via the network interface 306. In some cases, the othernetwork device may be another control device.

Playback device control commands such as volume control and audioplayback control may also be communicated from the control device 300 toa playback device via the network interface 306. As suggested above,changes to configurations of the media playback system 100 may also beperformed by a user using the control device 300. The configurationchanges may include adding/removing one or more playback devices to/froma zone, adding/removing one or more zones to/from a zone group, forminga bonded or consolidated player, separating one or more playback devicesfrom a bonded or consolidated player, among others. Accordingly, thecontrol device 300 may sometimes be referred to as a controller, whetherthe control device 300 is a dedicated controller or a network device onwhich media playback system controller application software isinstalled.

The user interface 308 of the control device 300 may be configured tofacilitate user access and control of the media playback system 100, byproviding a controller interface such as the controller interface 400shown in FIG. 4. The controller interface 400 includes a playbackcontrol region 410, a playback zone region 420, a playback status region430, a playback queue region 440, and an audio content sources region450. The user interface 400 as shown is just one example of a userinterface that may be provided on a network device such as the controldevice 300 of FIG. 3 (and/or the control devices 126 and 128 of FIG. 1)and accessed by users to control a media playback system such as themedia playback system 100. Other user interfaces of varying formats,styles, and interactive sequences may alternatively be implemented onone or more network devices to provide comparable control access to amedia playback system.

The playback control region 410 may include selectable (e.g., by way oftouch or by using a cursor) icons to cause playback devices in aselected playback zone or zone group to play or pause, fast forward,rewind, skip to next, skip to previous, enter/exit shuffle mode,enter/exit repeat mode, enter/exit cross fade mode. The playback controlregion 410 may also include selectable icons to modify equalizationsettings, and playback volume, among other possibilities.

The playback zone region 420 may include representations of playbackzones within the media playback system 100. In some embodiments, thegraphical representations of playback zones may be selectable to bringup additional selectable icons to manage or configure the playback zonesin the media playback system, such as a creation of bonded zones,creation of zone groups, separation of zone groups, and renaming of zonegroups, among other possibilities.

For example, as shown, a “group” icon may be provided within each of thegraphical representations of playback zones. The “group” icon providedwithin a graphical representation of a particular zone may be selectableto bring up options to select one or more other zones in the mediaplayback system to be grouped with the particular zone. Once grouped,playback devices in the zones that have been grouped with the particularzone will be configured to play audio content in synchrony with theplayback device(s) in the particular zone. Analogously, a “group” iconmay be provided within a graphical representation of a zone group. Inthis case, the “group” icon may be selectable to bring up options todeselect one or more zones in the zone group to be removed from the zonegroup. Other interactions and implementations for grouping andungrouping zones via a user interface such as the user interface 400 arealso possible. The representations of playback zones in the playbackzone region 420 may be dynamically updated as playback zone or zonegroup configurations are modified.

The playback status region 430 may include graphical representations ofaudio content that is presently being played, previously played, orscheduled to play next in the selected playback zone or zone group. Theselected playback zone or zone group may be visually distinguished onthe user interface, such as within the playback zone region 420 and/orthe playback status region 430. The graphical representations mayinclude track title, artist name, album name, album year, track length,and other relevant information that may be useful for the user to knowwhen controlling the media playback system via the user interface 400.

The playback queue region 440 may include graphical representations ofaudio content in a playback queue associated with the selected playbackzone or zone group. In some embodiments, each playback zone or zonegroup may be associated with a playback queue containing informationcorresponding to zero or more audio items for playback by the playbackzone or zone group. For instance, each audio item in the playback queuemay comprise a uniform resource identifier (URI), a uniform resourcelocator (URL) or some other identifier that may be used by a playbackdevice in the playback zone or zone group to find and/or retrieve theaudio item from a local audio content source or a networked audiocontent source, possibly for playback by the playback device.

In one example, a playlist may be added to a playback queue, in whichcase information corresponding to each audio item in the playlist may beadded to the playback queue. In another example, audio items in aplayback queue may be saved as a playlist. In a further example, aplayback queue may be empty, or populated but “not in use” when theplayback zone or zone group is playing continuously streaming audiocontent, such as Internet radio that may continue to play untilotherwise stopped, rather than discrete audio items that have playbackdurations. In an alternative embodiment, a playback queue can includeInternet radio and/or other streaming audio content items and be “inuse” when the playback zone or zone group is playing those items. Otherexamples are also possible.

When playback zones or zone groups are “grouped” or “ungrouped,”playback queues associated with the affected playback zones or zonegroups may be cleared or re-associated. For example, if a first playbackzone including a first playback queue is grouped with a second playbackzone including a second playback queue, the established zone group mayhave an associated playback queue that is initially empty, that containsaudio items from the first playback queue (such as if the secondplayback zone was added to the first playback zone), that contains audioitems from the second playback queue (such as if the first playback zonewas added to the second playback zone), or a combination of audio itemsfrom both the first and second playback queues. Subsequently, if theestablished zone group is ungrouped, the resulting first playback zonemay be re-associated with the previous first playback queue, or beassociated with a new playback queue that is empty or contains audioitems from the playback queue associated with the established zone groupbefore the established zone group was ungrouped. Similarly, theresulting second playback zone may be re-associated with the previoussecond playback queue, or be associated with a new playback queue thatis empty, or contains audio items from the playback queue associatedwith the established zone group before the established zone group wasungrouped. Other examples are also possible.

Referring back to the user interface 400 of FIG. 4, the graphicalrepresentations of audio content in the playback queue region 440 mayinclude track titles, artist names, track lengths, and other relevantinformation associated with the audio content in the playback queue. Inone example, graphical representations of audio content may beselectable to bring up additional selectable icons to manage and/ormanipulate the playback queue and/or audio content represented in theplayback queue. For instance, a represented audio content may be removedfrom the playback queue, moved to a different position within theplayback queue, or selected to be played immediately, or after anycurrently playing audio content, among other possibilities. A playbackqueue associated with a playback zone or zone group may be stored in amemory on one or more playback devices in the playback zone or zonegroup, on a playback device that is not in the playback zone or zonegroup, and/or some other designated device.

The audio content sources region 450 may include graphicalrepresentations of selectable audio content sources from which audiocontent may be retrieved and played by the selected playback zone orzone group. Discussions pertaining to audio content sources may be foundin the following section.

d. Example Audio Content Sources

As indicated previously, one or more playback devices in a zone or zonegroup may be configured to retrieve for playback audio content (e.g.according to a corresponding URI or URL for the audio content) from avariety of available audio content sources. In one example, audiocontent may be retrieved by a playback device directly from acorresponding audio content source (e.g., a line-in connection). Inanother example, audio content may be provided to a playback device overa network via one or more other playback devices or network devices.

Example audio content sources may include a memory of one or moreplayback devices in a media playback system such as the media playbacksystem 100 of FIG. 1, local music libraries on one or more networkdevices (such as a control device, a network-enabled personal computer,or a networked-attached storage (NAS), for example), streaming audioservices providing audio content via the Internet (e.g., the cloud), oraudio sources connected to the media playback system via a line-in inputconnection on a playback device or network devise, among otherpossibilities.

In some embodiments, audio content sources may be regularly added orremoved from a media playback system such as the media playback system100 of FIG. 1. In one example, an indexing of audio items may beperformed whenever one or more audio content sources are added, removedor updated. Indexing of audio items may involve scanning foridentifiable audio items in all folders/directory shared over a networkaccessible by playback devices in the media playback system, andgenerating or updating an audio content database containing metadata(e.g., title, artist, album, track length, among others) and otherassociated information, such as a URI or URL for each identifiable audioitem found. Other examples for managing and maintaining audio contentsources may also be possible.

The above discussions relating to playback devices, controller devices,playback zone configurations, and media content sources provide onlysome examples of operating environments within which functions andmethods described below may be implemented. Other operating environmentsand configurations of media playback systems, playback devices, andnetwork devices not explicitly described herein may also be applicableand suitable for implementation of the functions and methods.

III. Methods and Systems for Prioritizing Media Content Requests

Referring now to FIGS. 5, 9, 10, 11, and 12, methods 500, 900, 1000,1100, and 1200 present example methods that may be implemented within anoperating environment involving, for example, one or more instances ofthe media playback system 100 of FIG. 1, one or more of the playbackdevice 200 of FIG. 2, one or more of the control device 300 of FIG. 3,or any of the devices or systems depicted in FIGS. 6A, 6B, and 6C.Methods 500, 900, 1000, 1100, and 1200 may include one or moreoperations, functions, or actions as illustrated by one or more ofblocks 502-504, 902-904, 1002-1008, 1102-1108, and 1202-1206.

In addition, for the methods 500, 900, 1000, 1100, and 1200, and otherprocesses and methods disclosed herein, the flowcharts showfunctionality and operation of one possible implementation of presentembodiments. In this regard, each block may represent a module, asegment, or a portion of program code, which includes one or moreinstructions executable by a processor for implementing specific logicalfunctions or steps in the process. The program code may be stored on anytype of computer readable medium, for example, such as a storage deviceincluding a disk or hard drive. The computer readable medium may includenon-transitory computer readable medium, for example, such ascomputer-readable media that stores data for short periods of time likeregister memory, processor cache and Random Access Memory (RAM). Thecomputer readable medium may also include non-transitory media, such assecondary or persistent long term storage, like read only memory (ROM),optical or magnetic disks, compact-disc read only memory (CD-ROM), forexample. The computer readable media may also be any other volatile ornon-volatile storage systems. The computer readable medium may beconsidered a computer readable storage medium, for example, or atangible storage device. In addition, for the methods 500, 900, 1000,1100, and 1200 and other processes and methods disclosed herein, eachblock shown in the FIGS. 5, 9, 10, 11, and 12 may represent circuitrythat is wired to perform the specific logical functions in the process.Moreover, although the blocks are illustrated in sequential order, theseblocks may also be performed in parallel, and/or in a different orderthan those described herein. Also, the various blocks may be combinedinto fewer blocks, divided into additional blocks, and/or removed basedupon the desired implementation.

Referring now to FIG. 5, at block 502, the method 500 includesdetecting, by a media playback system, a command for at least oneplayback device of the media playback system to perform a sequence ofone or more playback operations. Referring to FIG. 6A as an example, amedia playback system 604 (e.g., playback device 608) may detect acommand 609 sent by a control device 610. In another example, thecommand may be forwarded from a playback device 612 to be detected bythe playback device 608. The command 609 may include a command for themedia playback system 604 to perform a sequence of playback operationsrepresented by sequence 700 of FIG. 7.

A media playback system 606 (e.g., playback device 614) may also detecta command 615 sent from a control device 616. In another example, thecommand may be forwarded from a playback device 618 to be detected bythe playback device 614. The command 615 may include a command for themedia playback system 606 to perform a sequence of playback operationsrepresented by sequence 800 of FIG. 8.

Devices respectively included within the media playback systems 604 and606 may be at the same general location (e.g., a home or businesssetting) or may be at different locations. Any device of the mediaplayback systems 604 and 606 may be authenticated (“signed-in”) orotherwise configured to communicate with the computing system 602 usinglogin credentials associated with an account of a media serviceprovider.

In various examples, the detected commands 609 and 615 may include acommand (or a series of commands) to immediately: (i) play back mediacontent, (ii) play back media content and subsequently play back othermedia content in a specified sequence, (iii) play an internet radiostream, (iv) skip ahead to play back media content that is next to beplayed in a playback queue, (v) skip ahead to play back media contentthat is included in the playback queue but not next to be played backaccording to the playback queue, (vi) skip back to play back mediacontent that precedes currently playing media content in the playbackqueue, or (vii) join a zone of playback device(s) to synchronously playback media content that the playback device(s) of the zone are currentlyplaying back. The detected command may also include a command toinitiate performance of any of items i-vii at a time in the future(e.g., an alarm). Other examples of playback commands are possible.

In an example depicted in FIG. 6B, a media playback system may be astandalone computing device instead of a group of devices that includes(i) at least one playback device and (ii) at least one control device asshown in FIG. 6A. For instance, media playback system 634 may be asmartphone, a tablet computer, a laptop computer, or a desktop computer.The media playback system 634 may include speakers or another audiooutput device configured to provide audible playback of media content651 received from the computing system 632. Instead of receiving acommand from a control device, the media playback system 634 may receivethe command 639 via a user-interface, such as a touchscreen, a keyboard,a mouse, or the like. The computing system 632 may send media content651 to the media playback system 634 in response to the media playbacksystem 634 sending the request 641 to the computing system 632 (seedescription related to block 504 below for more detail about the request641).

In another example depicted in FIG. 6C, playback devices 668 and 672 maybe part of a first playback zone 664 and playback devices 674 and 678may be part of a second playback zone 666. Both the first playback zone664 and the second playback zone 666 may be included within a mediaplayback system 600. In this case, the request 671 may indicate that thefirst playback operation is to be carried out by one or more playbackdevices of the first playback zone 664, whereas the request 679 mayindicate that the second playback operation is to be carried out by oneor more playback devices of the second playback zone 666 (seedescription of blocks 1002 and 1004 below for more details about examplerequests sent by playback devices). Also shown in FIG. 6C is thecomputing system 662, as well as the control devices 670 and 676.

Referring to FIG. 7 as an example, the sequence 700 of playbackoperations 702-712 is shown. The sequence 700 may be indicated by thecommand 609 detected by the media playback system 604 and be defined byfirst playing back “Track x” at 702, then playing back “Track y” at 704,then playing back “Track z” at 706, then playing back “Track x” again at708, then playing back “Track y” again at 710, and lastly playing back“Track w” at 712. In this example, the media playback system 604 mayrequest to receive “Track x” from the computing system 602 because“Track x” might not be stored within the media playback system 604.

Referring to FIG. 8 as another example, a sequence 800 of playbackoperations 802-812 is shown. The sequence 800 may be indicated by thecommand 615 detected by the media playback system 606 and be defined byfirst playing back “Track a” at 802, then playing back “Track b” at 804,then playing back “Track c” at 806, then playing back “Track a” again at808, then playing back “Track b” again at 810, and lastly playing back“Track d” at 812. In this example, the media playback system 606 mayneed to request to receive “Track b” from the computing system 602because “Track b” might not be stored within the media playback system606.

At block 504, the method 500 includes sending, by the media playbacksystem to a computing system, a request for media content related to atleast one playback operation of the sequence of one or more playbackoperations, where the request includes information characterizing the atleast one playback operation. Referring to FIG. 6A as an example, themedia playback system 604 (e.g., playback device 608) may send therequest 611 to the computing system 602. The media playback system 606(e.g., playback device 614) may also send a request 619 to the computingsystem 602.

The computing system 602 may include a server, a general-purposecomputing device, or any networked collection of servers and/orgeneral-purpose computing devices. In one example, the computing system602 may be associated with a media service provider and may have accessto various media content requested by the media playback systems 604 and606. In some examples, the computing system 602 may be another playbackdevice that serves as a gateway communicatively coupling (i) a computingsystem associated with the media service provider and (ii) playbackdevices 608, 612, 614, or 618.

The request 611 may include information that explicitly or implicitlyindicates a priority level associated with the at least one playbackoperation that is related to the media content requested by the mediaplayback system 604. For example, the request 611 may indicate that theplayback operation 702 related to the media content 621 (e.g., “Trackx”) requested by the media playback system 604 is a playback operationthat is to be performed first in the sequence 700 of playback operationsindicated by command 609. In some examples, the sequence may includeonly one playback operation that is considered a first playbackoperation of the sequence by default.

Playback operations that are to be executed first in a sequence ofplayback operations may be considered “high priority” based on aninference that a user considers such playback operations to be “highpriority.” Such “high priority” or “explicit” playback commands mayinclude a “play now” operation (e.g., immediately playing back a giventrack, a first track of an album, a first track of a playlist, or aninternet radio stream), a “next” operation (e.g., playing the next trackin a playback queue), a “back” operation (e.g., playing the previoustrack in a playback queue), an “alarm” operation (e.g., initiating a“play now” operation at a future time), or a “join zone” operation(e.g., a playback device joins a zone that includes one or more otherplayback devices and joins the other playback devices in synchronousplayback of the zone's playback queue). In some situations, commandsreceived by the computing system 602 that are associated with “explicit”or “high priority” playback operations may be honored instead ofcommands that are associated with “implicit” or “low priority” playbackoperations. “Implicit” or “low priority” playback operations that arebeing performed by a first playback device may be overridden by“explicit” or “high priority” playback operations that are performed bya second device.

Additionally or alternatively, the request 611 may also explicitlyindicate a priority level associated with the at least one playbackoperation, perhaps with such data tags as “EXPLICIT_USER_COMMAND,”“EXPLICIT: PLAY,” “EXPLICIT: SKIP_FORWARD,” or “HIGH_PRIORITY.” Suchhigh priority playback operations may include alarm operations, wherethe associated command indicates a sequence of one or more playbackoperations to be performed at a later time.

In other examples, the request is associated with a playback operationthat is to be completed after other playback operations of the sequence.For example, the request 619 may indicate that the playback operation804 related to the media content (e.g., “Track b”) requested by themedia playback system 606 is a playback operation that is to beperformed after other playback operations of the sequence 800. That is,the media playback system 606 might not immediately send the request 619after receiving the command 615 because the playback operation 802precedes playback operation 804 in the sequence 800.

Playback operations that are to be executed after other playbackoperations of a sequence may be considered “low priority” based on aninference that a user considers such playback operations to be “lowpriority.” If the request 619 includes information explicitly indicatinga low priority level associated with such a playback operation, suchinformation may include “IMPLICIT_SYSTEM_COMMAND” or “LOW_PRIORITY.”Such “low priority” or “implicit” playback operations may include aplayback device, after completion of an “explicit” or “high priority”playback operation, initiating playback of a track that is next to beplayed in a playback queue, or selecting a next track to be played froma playlist based on a shuffle mode of the playback device being enabled.

In some examples, the computing system 602 may recognize requests thatlack priority information as being an implicit or low priority command,meaning perhaps that the playback device is requesting the media contentto perform the playback operation based on a state change detected bythe playback device (e.g., detecting that it is time to play back a nextmedia content of a playback queue).

The method 500 may further include, after initiating performance of afirst playback operation of the sequence, determining that a secondplayback operation of the at least one playback operation is to beperformed next according to the sequence; and sending the request forthe media content based at least in part on determining that the secondplayback operation is to be performed next according to the sequence.

Referring back to FIG. 8, the media playback system 606 may initiateplayback of “Track a” at 802. Then the media playback system 606 maydetermine that the playback operation 804 is to be performed nextaccording to the sequence 800. The media playback system 606 may alsodetermine that media content corresponding to the playback operation 804(e.g., “Track b”) may accessible to the computing system 602 but not themedia playback system 606. In this example, the request 619 may includea request for media content that includes “Track b.” The request 619 maybe sent, at least in part, based on determining that the playbackoperation 804 is to be performed next according to the sequence 800.

Referring to FIG. 7 as another example, the media playback system 604may perform playback of “Track x” at 702, “Track y” at 704, and “Trackz” at 706. Then the media playback system 604 may determine thatplayback operation 708 is to be performed next according to the sequence700. The media playback system 604 may also determine that media contentcorresponding to the playback operation 708 (e.g., “Track x”) isaccessible to the computing system 602 but not the media playback system604. In this example, the request 611 may include a request for mediacontent that includes “Track x.” The request 611 may be sent, at leastin part, based on determining that the playback operation 708 is to beperformed next according to the sequence 700.

As shown by both FIGS. 7 and 8, playback operations included as part ofsequences 700 and 800 may include a media playback system playing backmedia content that is stored within the media playback system and/orplaying back media content that is stored outside of the media playbacksystem (e.g., stored within computing system 602). For example, thesequence 700 of FIG. 7 includes playing back “Track y” that is storedwithin media playback system 604 and “Track x” that is stored withincomputing system 602. Also, the sequence 800 of FIG. 8 includes playingback “Track a” that is stored within media playback system 606 andplaying back “Track b” that is stored within computing system 602.

The method 500 may also include receiving the media content from thecomputing system; and initiating the at least one playback operationthat is related to the received media content. For example, the mediaplayback system 604 may receive, from computing system 602, therequested media content 621 (e.g., “Track x”) and initiate the playbackoperation that is related to the received media content 621. The mediaplayback system 606 may also receive the requested media content 622(e.g., “Track b”) from the computing system 602 and initiate theplayback operation that is related to the received media content 622.

Referring now to FIG. 9, at block 902, the method 900 includesdetecting, by a media playback system, a playback command for at leastone playback device of the media playback system to perform a sequenceof one or more playback operations. For example, block 902 may includeany functionality described above with respect to block 502. Theplayback command may include any of the commands used as examples abovein the description related to blocks 502 and 504.

At block 904, the method 900 includes sending, by the media playbacksystem to a computing system, a request for media content related to atleast one playback operation of the sequence of one or more playbackoperations, where the request indicates a time that a playback commandwas last detected by any of the at least one playback devices. Block 904may be functionally similar in some respects to block 504 describedabove. However, instead of (or in addition to) the request includinginformation characterizing the at least one playback operation, therequest may indicate a time that a playback command was last detected byany of the at least one playback devices.

Referring to FIG. 6A as an example, the request 611 may indicate thatthe media playback system 604 last detected a playback command (e.g.,command 609) 5 seconds ago, whereas the request 619 may indicate thatthe media playback system 606 last detected a playback command (e.g.,command 615) 5 minutes ago. One explanation for why more time may havetranspired between (i) detecting command 615 and sending request 619 ascompared to time transpired between (ii) detecting command 609 andsending request 611 is that the media content requested by the mediaplayback system 606 may be related to a playback operation that is notfirst of a sequence of playback operations (as indicated by command 615)whereas the media content requested by media playback system 604 isrelated to a playback operation that is first of a sequence (asindicated by command 609). This information may facilitate the computingsystem determining whether to honor request 611 or request 619 bysending corresponding media content to either the media playback system604 or the media playback system 606.

In one example, the request 611 may include a time stamp (e.g.,“21:43:57 11-Mar-14”). In this case, the media playback system 604 andthe computing system 602 may have access to respective clocks that aresynchronized to one another such that both the media playback system 604and the computing system 602 recognize timestamps with respect to thesame frame of reference. In another example, the request 611 may simplyinclude a duration that has passed since the media playback system 604last received a playback command. Here, it might not be necessary forthe computing system 602 and the media playback system 604 to maintainmutually synchronized clocks. Playback operations that are associatedwith more recently received playback commands may be determined to havehigher priority than playback operations that are associated with lessrecently received playback commands, as it may be possible that the morerecently received playback command was intended to supersede the lessrecently received playback command, should the two commands conflictwith respect to an amount of media streams that playback devicesassociated with the account may be allowed to receive.

Referring now to FIG. 10, at block 1002, the method 1000 includesreceiving, by a computing system from a first playback device, a firstrequest for first media content, where the first request includesinformation characterizing a first playback operation and the firstplayback device is associated with an account of the media serviceprovider, and where the computing system is associated with a mediaservice provider.

Referring to back FIG. 6A, the computing system 602 may receive thefirst request 611 from the first playback device 608. In some examples,the computing system 602 may be another playback device that serves as agateway communicatively coupling (i) a computing system associated withthe media service provider and (ii) playback devices 608, 612, 614, or618. In other examples, the computing system 602 may include a server ornetwork of servers associated with the media service provider.

The first request 611 may include a request for first media content 621and information characterizing a first playback operation that isrelated to the first media content 621. For example, the first request611 may indicate that the first media content 621 (e.g., “Track x”) isrelated to playback operation 702 of FIG. 7, which includes playing back“Track x” as a first playback operation of the sequence 700. In someexamples, the computing system 602 may send an indication to theplayback device 608 indicating that the computing system 602 isconfigured to determine whether to honor media content requests based oninformation characterizing playback operation. As shown in FIG. 6B, thefirst request 1311 may indicate that the first playback operation is tobe carried out on a user's “primary” playback device, such as asmartphone. Such an indication may be indicative of a “high priority”playback operation.

At block 1004, the method 1000 includes receiving, by the computingsystem from a second playback device, a second request for second mediacontent, where the second request includes information characterizing asecond playback operation and the second playback device is associatedwith the account of the media service provider. As an example, thecomputing system 602 may receive the second request 619 from the secondplayback device 614. The second request 619 may include a request forthe second media content 622 and information characterizing a secondplayback operation that is related to the second media content 622. Forexample, the second request 619 may indicate that the second mediacontent 622 (e.g., “Track b”) is related to playback operation 804 ofFIG. 8, which includes playing back “Track b” as a second playbackoperation of the sequence 800. In some examples, the first media content621 and the second media content 622 may be instances of the same mediacontent.

At block 1006, the method 1000 includes determining, by the computingsystem, that the first playback operation has a higher priority than thesecond playback operation based on the received informationcharacterizing the first playback operation and the received informationcharacterizing the second playback operation. For example, the computingsystem 602 may determine that the first playback operation 702 has ahigher priority than the second playback operation 804 based on (i) thereceived information that indicates that the first playback operation702 is to be performed as a first playback operation of the sequence 700and (ii) the received information that indicates that the secondplayback operation 804 is to be performed second (e.g. not first) of thesequence 800. In other examples, the second playback operation may beassociated with other positions within the sequence 800 that are notfirst in the sequence 800. In another example depicted in FIGS. 6A and6B, the computing system 602 may determine that the first playbackoperation has higher priority than the second playback operation becausethe request 1311 indicated that the first playback operation is to becarried out by the user's “primary” device, such as the media playbacksystem 1304 (e.g., a smartphone).

Block 1006 may be performed in situations where a number of concurrentrequests for media content to be provided by the computing system 602exceeds an amount of media streams that a group of playback devicesassociated with an account of a media service provider is allowed toreceive.

At block 1008, the method 1000 includes, after determining that thefirst playback operation has a higher priority, sending, by thecomputing system, the first media content to the first playback device.For example, the computing system 602 may send the first media content621 to the first playback device 608 after determining that the firstplayback operation 702 has a higher priority than playback operation804. In some situations, the computing system 602 may stop sending thesecond media content 622 to the playback device 614 or might not sendthe second media content 622 to the playback device 614 at all.

In some situations, prior to sending the first media content 621 to thefirst playback device 608, the computing system 602 may send the secondmedia content 622 to the second playback device 614. For example, thecomputing system 602 may have already received the second request 619and the second playback device 614 may be already be performing thesecond playback operation 804 when the computing system 602 receives thefirst request 611 from the first playback device 608.

Next, the computing system 602 may determine that continuing to send thesecond media content 622 to the second playback device 614 would cause agroup of one or more playback devices associated with the account toconcurrently receive more media streams than the group is allowed toreceive. Since the computing system 602 may be already sending thesecond media content 622 to the second playback device 614, thecomputing system 602 may then determine whether to continue sending thesecond media content 622 to the second playback device 614 or to sendthe first media content 621 to the first playback device 608. In thiscase, because the first playback operation 702 has a higher prioritythan the second playback operation 804, the computing system 602determines to send the first media content 621 to the first playbackdevice 608. Based on the determining that continuing to send the secondmedia content 622 to the second playback device 614 would cause thegroup of one or more playback devices (e.g., playback devices 608 and614) associated with the account to concurrently receive more mediastreams than the group is allowed to receive, the computing system 602may also stop sending the second media content 622 to the second mediaplayback device 614.

In another example, the group of playback devices associated with theaccount may be allowed to collectively receive two (or more) mediastreams at one time. The computing system 602 may be providing the firstmedia content 621 to the first playback device 608 when the computingsystem 602 receives the second request 619. The computing system 602 maythen determine that sending the second media content 622 to the secondplayback device 614 would not cause a group of one or more playbackdevices associated with the account to concurrently receive more mediastreams than the group is allowed to receive. In response, the computingsystem 602 may send the second media content 622 to the second playbackdevice 614.

Referring now to FIG. 11, at block 1102, the method 1100 includesreceiving, by a computing system associated with a media serviceprovider from a first playback device associated with an account of themedia service provider, a first request for first media content relatedto a first playback operation, where the first request indicates a timethat a playback command was last received by any playback device of afirst group of one or more playback devices that includes the firstplayback device. The first group of playback devices may be an arbitrarygroup of playback devices, playback devices making up a playback zone,or playback devices making up a media playback system. As discussedabove in relation to block 904, the first request may indicate aduration that has passed since any playback device of the first grouplast detected a playback command, or the first request may includetimestamp data indicating a time at which any playback device of thefirst group last detected a playback command.

At block 1104, the method 1100 includes receiving, by the computingsystem from a second playback device associated with the account, asecond request for second media content related to a second playbackoperation, where the second request indicates a time that a playbackcommand was last received by any playback device of a second group ofone or more playback devices that includes the second playback device.The second group of playback devices may be an arbitrary group ofplayback devices, playback devices making up a playback zone, orplayback devices making up a media playback system. As discussed abovein relation to block 904, the second request may indicate a durationthat has passed since any playback device of the second playback systemlast detected a playback command, or the second request may includetimestamp data indicating a time at which any playback device of thesecond playback system last detected a playback command.

At block 1106, the method 1100 includes determining that the first groupreceived a playback command more recently than the second group. Forexample, the computing system 602 may compare timestamps and/or durationdata included in the first request 611 and the second request 619 todetermine that the first playback system received a playback commandmore recently than the second playback system.

At block 1108, the method 1100 includes sending the first media contentto the first playback device. Block 1108 may include any functionalitydescribed above in relation to block 1008.

Referring now to FIG. 12, at block 1202, the method 1200 includesreceiving, by a computing system from a playback device, a request formedia content, where the request includes information characterizing aplayback operation and the playback device is associated with an accountof the media service provider. Referring to FIG. 6A as an example, thecomputing system 602 may receive the request 611 from the playbackdevice 608. The playback device 608 may request the media content 621 sothat the playback device 608 may perform playback operation 702 of FIG.7, for example. The request 611 may include information characterizingthe playback operation 702, indicating that the playback operation 702may be first to be performed of a sequence 700 of playback operations702-712. (In other examples, the sequence may only include a singleplayback operation that is considered first of the sequence by default.)

At block 1204, the method 1200 includes determining, by the computingsystem, whether to provide the media content based on the receivedinformation characterizing the playback operation. Since the receivedinformation indicates that the playback operation 702 is first to beperformed of the sequence 700, the computing system may determine toprovide the media content 621 to the playback device 608. In anotherexample, the computing system 602 may determine not to provide mediacontent to a playback device if the received request indicates that aplayback operation related to the requested media content is not a firstplayback operation of a sequence.

At block 1206, the method 1200 includes sending, by the computingsystem, the media content 621 to the playback device. For example, thecomputing system 602 sends the media content 621 to the playback device608.

IV. Conclusion

The description above discloses, among other things, various examplesystems, methods, apparatus, and articles of manufacture including,among other components, firmware and/or software executed on hardware.It is understood that such examples are merely illustrative and shouldnot be considered as limiting. For example, it is contemplated that anyor all of the firmware, hardware, and/or software aspects or componentscan be embodied exclusively in hardware, exclusively in software,exclusively in firmware, or in any combination of hardware, software,and/or firmware. Accordingly, the examples provided are not the onlyway(s) to implement such systems, methods, apparatus, and/or articles ofmanufacture.

In one aspect, a method is provided. The method involves detecting, by amedia playback system, a command for at least one playback device of themedia playback system to perform a sequence of one or more playbackoperations; and sending, by the media playback system to a computingsystem, a request for media content related to at least one playbackoperation of the sequence of one or more playback operations, where therequest includes information characterizing the at least one playbackoperation.

In another aspect, a non-transitory computer-readable medium isprovided. The non-transitory computer-readable medium has stored thereoninstructions executable by a media playback system to cause the mediaplayback system to perform functions. The functions include detecting acommand for at least one playback device of the media playback system toperform a sequence of one or more playback operations; and sending, to acomputing system, a request for media content related to at least oneplayback operation of the sequence of one or more playback operations,where the request includes information characterizing the at least oneplayback operation.

In yet another aspect, a media playback system is provided. The mediaplayback system includes a processor and a non-transitorycomputer-readable medium storing instructions that when executed by themedia playback system cause the media playback system to performfunctions comprising: detecting a command for at least one playbackdevice of the media playback system to perform a sequence of one or moreplayback operations; and sending, to a computing system, a request formedia content related to at least one playback operation of the sequenceof one or more playback operations, where the request includesinformation characterizing the at least one playback operation.

In another aspect, a method is provided. The method involves detecting,by a media playback system, a playback command for at least one playbackdevice of the media playback system to perform a sequence of one or moreplayback operations; and sending, by the media playback system to acomputing system, a request for media content related to at least oneplayback operation of the sequence of one or more playback operations,where the request indicates a time that a playback command was lastdetected by any of the at least one playback devices.

In yet another aspect, a non-transitory computer-readable medium isprovided. The non-transitory computer-readable medium has stored thereoninstructions executable by a media playback system to cause the mediaplayback system to perform functions. The functions include detecting aplayback command for at least one playback device of the media playbacksystem to perform a sequence of one or more playback operations; andsending, to a computing system, a request for media content related toat least one playback operation of the sequence of one or more playbackoperations, where the request indicates a time that a playback commandwas last detected by any of the at least one playback devices.

In another aspect, a media playback system is provided. The mediaplayback system includes a processor and a computer-readable mediumstoring instructions that when executed by the media playback systemcause the media playback system to perform functions comprising:detecting a playback command for at least one playback device of themedia playback system to perform a sequence of one or more playbackoperations; and sending, to a computing system, a request for mediacontent related to at least one playback operation of the sequence ofone or more playback operations, where the request indicates a time thata playback command was last detected by any of the at least one playbackdevices.

In another aspect, the disclosure includes a method that comprisesreceiving, by a computing system from a first playback device, a firstrequest for first media content, where the first request includesinformation characterizing a first playback operation and the firstplayback device is associated with an account of the media serviceprovider, and where the computing system is associated with a mediaservice provider; receiving, by the computing system from a secondplayback device, a second request for second media content, where thesecond request includes information characterizing a second playbackoperation and the second playback device is associated with the accountof the media service provider; determining, by the computing system,that the first playback operation has a higher priority than the secondplayback operation based on the received information characterizing thefirst playback operation and the received information characterizing thesecond playback operation; and after determining that the first playbackoperation has a higher priority, sending, by the computing system, thefirst media content to the first playback device.

In yet another aspect, a non-transitory computer-readable medium isprovided. The non-transitory computer-readable medium has stored thereoninstructions executable by a computing system to cause the computingsystem to perform functions. The computing system is associated with amedia service provider. The functions include receiving, from a firstplayback device, a first request for first media content, where thefirst request includes information characterizing a first playbackoperation and the first playback device is associated with an account ofthe media service provider; receiving, from a second playback device, asecond request for second media content, where the second requestincludes information characterizing a second playback operation and thesecond playback device is associated with the account of the mediaservice provider; determining that the first playback operation has ahigher priority than the second playback operation based on the receivedinformation characterizing the first playback operation and the receivedinformation characterizing the second playback operation; and afterdetermining that the first playback operation has a higher priority,sending the first media content to the first playback device.

In yet another aspect, a computing system associated with a mediaservice provider is provided. The computing system includes a processorand a computer-readable medium storing instructions that when executedby the computing system cause the computing device to perform functionscomprising: receiving, from a first playback device, a first request forfirst media content, where the first request includes informationcharacterizing a first playback operation and the first playback deviceis associated with an account of the media service provider; receiving,from a second playback device, a second request for second mediacontent, where the second request includes information characterizing asecond playback operation and the second playback device is associatedwith the account of the media service provider; determining that thefirst playback operation has a higher priority than the second playbackoperation based on the received information characterizing the firstplayback operation and the received information characterizing thesecond playback operation; and after determining that the first playbackoperation has a higher priority, sending the first media content to thefirst playback device.

In another aspect, the disclosure includes a method that comprisesreceiving, by a computing system associated with a media serviceprovider from a first playback device associated with an account of themedia service provider, a first request for first media content relatedto a first playback operation, where the first request indicates a timethat a playback command was last received by any playback device of afirst group of one or more playback devices that includes the firstplayback device; receiving, by the computing system from a secondplayback device associated with the account, a second request for secondmedia content related to a second playback operation, where the secondrequest indicates a time that a playback command was last received byany playback device of a second group of one or more playback devicesthat includes the second playback device; determining that the firstgroup received a playback command more recently than the second group;and sending the first media content to the first playback device.

In yet another aspect, a non-transitory computer-readable medium isprovided. The non-transitory computer-readable medium has stored thereoninstructions executable by a computing system to cause the computingsystem to perform functions. The computing system is associated with amedia service provider. The functions include receiving, from a firstplayback device associated with an account of the media serviceprovider, a first request for first media content related to a firstplayback operation, where the first request indicates a time that aplayback command was last received by any playback device of a firstgroup of one or more playback devices that includes the first playbackdevice; receiving, from a second playback device associated with theaccount, a second request for second media content related to a secondplayback operation, where the second request indicates a time that aplayback command was last received by any playback device of a secondgroup of one or more playback devices that includes the second playbackdevice; determining that the first group received a playback commandmore recently than the second group; and sending the first media contentto the first playback device.

In yet another aspect, a computing system associated with a mediaservice provider is provided. The computing system includes a processorand a computer-readable medium storing instructions that when executedby the computing system cause the computing device to perform functionscomprising: receiving, from a first playback device associated with anaccount of the media service provider, a first request for first mediacontent related to a first playback operation, where the first requestindicates a time that a playback command was last received by anyplayback device of a first group of one or more playback devices thatincludes the first playback device; receiving, from a second playbackdevice associated with the account, a second request for second mediacontent related to a second playback operation, where the second requestindicates a time that a playback command was last received by anyplayback device of a second group of one or more playback devices thatincludes the second playback device; determining that the first groupreceived a playback command more recently than the second group; andsending the first media content to the first playback device.

In yet another aspect, a method is provided that includes receiving, bya computing system from a playback device, a request for media content,where the request includes information characterizing a playbackoperation and the playback device is associated with an account of themedia service provider; determining whether to provide the media contentbased on the received information characterizing the playback operation;and sending the media content to the playback device.

In yet another aspect, a non-transitory computer-readable medium isprovided. The non-transitory computer-readable medium has stored thereoninstructions executable by a computing system to cause the computingsystem to perform functions. The computing system is associated with amedia service provider. The functions include receiving, from a playbackdevice, a request for media content, where the request includesinformation characterizing a playback operation and the playback deviceis associated with an account of the media service provider; determiningwhether to provide the media content based on the received informationcharacterizing the playback operation; and sending the media content tothe playback device.

In yet another aspect, a computing system associated with a mediaservice provider is provided. The computing system includes a processorand a computer-readable medium storing instructions that when executedby the computing system cause the computing device to perform functionscomprising: receiving, from a playback device, a request for mediacontent, where the request includes information characterizing aplayback operation and the playback device is associated with an accountof the media service provider; determining whether to provide the mediacontent based on the received information characterizing the playbackoperation; and sending the media content to the playback device.

Additionally, references herein to “embodiment” means that a particularfeature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with theembodiment can be included in at least one example embodiment of aninvention. The appearances of this phrase in various places in thespecification are not necessarily all referring to the same embodiment,nor are separate or alternative embodiments mutually exclusive of otherembodiments. As such, the embodiments described herein, explicitly andimplicitly understood by one skilled in the art, can be combined withother embodiments.

The specification is presented largely in terms of illustrativeenvironments, systems, procedures, steps, logic blocks, processing, andother symbolic representations that directly or indirectly resemble theoperations of data processing devices coupled to networks. These processdescriptions and representations are typically used by those skilled inthe art to most effectively convey the substance of their work to othersskilled in the art. Numerous specific details are set forth to provide athorough understanding of the present disclosure. However, it isunderstood to those skilled in the art that certain embodiments of thepresent disclosure can be practiced without certain, specific details.In other instances, well known methods, procedures, components, andcircuitry have not been described in detail to avoid unnecessarilyobscuring aspects of the embodiments. Accordingly, the scope of thepresent disclosure is defined by the appended claims rather than theforgoing description of embodiments.

When any of the appended claims are read to cover a purely softwareand/or firmware implementation, at least one of the elements in at leastone example is hereby expressly defined to include a tangible,non-transitory medium such as a memory, DVD, CD, Blu-ray, and so on,storing the software and/or firmware.

I claim:
 1. A method to be performed by a computing system, the methodcomprising: receiving, via a network interface, data representing arequest to play back a playlist on one or more playback devices of amedia playback system, wherein the request to playback the playlist isan explicit playback command; based on the request, causing, via thenetwork interface, the one or more playback devices to play back a givenaudio track of the playlist, wherein the one or more playback devicesstream audio tracks of the playlist from one or more remote servers;while the one or more playback devices are playing back one or morefirst tracks of the playlist, receiving, via the network interface, oneor more requests for second audio tracks in the playlist, wherein theone or more requests are implicit playback commands; while the one ormore playback devices are playing back the second audio tracks of theplaylist, receiving, via the network interface, data representing arequest to play back audio content on a mobile device, wherein therequest to play back the audio content is an explicit playback command;determining that the request to play back the audio content on themobile device is a higher priority than the requests for second audiotracks; and based on the determining, switching playback from the one ormore playback devices to the mobile device, wherein switching theplayback comprises: causing playback on the one or more playback devicesto be stopped; and causing, via the network interface, the mobile deviceto play back the audio content, wherein the mobile device streams theaudio content from the one or more remote servers.
 2. The method ofclaim 1, wherein the receiving the data representing a request to playback audio content on a mobile content comprises receiving datarepresenting a request to play back the playlist on the mobile device.3. The method of claim 1, wherein the computing system comprises the oneor more remote servers, and wherein the method further comprises:streaming the audio tracks of the playlist to the one or more playbackdevices; and streaming the audio content to the mobile device.
 4. Themethod of claim 1, wherein the request to play back the playlist on theone or more playback devices of the media playback system and therequest to play back audio content on the mobile device are associatedwith a given user account, and wherein the given user account isauthenticated with the computing system.
 5. The method of claim 4,wherein computing system is configured to provide a streaming mediaservice, and wherein the given user account is registered with thestreaming media service.
 6. The method of claim 4, further comprising:determining that playing back audio content on the mobile device wouldexceed a threshold number of streams allowed for the given user account.7. The method of claim 6, wherein the threshold number of streamsallowed for the given user account is one.
 8. The method of claim 1,wherein determining that the request to play back the audio content onthe mobile device is a higher priority than the requests for secondaudio tracks comprises: determining that the request to play back theaudio content on the mobile device is an explicit playback command; anddetermining that the requests for second audio tracks are implicitplayback commands, wherein explicit playback commands are higherpriority than implicit playback commands.
 9. A computing systemcomprising: a network interface; one or more processors; data storagestoring instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors,cause the computing system to perform functions comprising: receiving,via the network interface, data representing a request to play back aplaylist on one or more playback devices of a media playback system,wherein the request to playback the playlist is an explicit playbackcommand; based on the request, causing, via the network interface, theone or more playback devices to play back a given audio track of theplaylist, wherein the one or more playback devices stream audio tracksof the playlist from one or more remote servers; while the one or moreplayback devices are playing back one or more first tracks of theplaylist, receiving, via the network interface, one or more requests forsecond audio tracks in the playlist, wherein the one or more requestsare implicit playback commands; while the one or more playback devicesare playing back the second audio tracks of the playlist, receiving, viathe network interface, data representing a request to play back audiocontent on a mobile device, wherein the request to play back the audiocontent is an explicit playback command; determining that the request toplay back the audio content on the mobile device is a higher prioritythan the requests for second audio tracks; and based on the determining,switching playback from the one or more playback devices to the mobiledevice, wherein switching the playback comprises: causing playback onthe one or more playback devices to be stopped; and causing, via thenetwork interface, the mobile device to play back the audio content,wherein the mobile device streams the audio content from the one or moreremote servers.
 10. The computing system of claim 9, wherein thereceiving the data representing a request to play back audio content ona mobile content comprises receiving data representing a request to playback the playlist on the mobile device.
 11. The computing system ofclaim 9, wherein the computing system comprises the one or more remoteservers, and wherein the functions further comprise: streaming the audiotracks of the playlist to the one or more playback devices; andstreaming the audio content to the mobile device.
 12. The computingsystem of claim 9, wherein the request to play back the playlist on theone or more playback devices of the media playback system and therequest to play back audio content on the mobile device are associatedwith a given user account, and wherein the given user account isauthenticated with the computing system.
 13. The computing system ofclaim 12, wherein computing system is configured to provide a streamingmedia service, and wherein the given user account is registered with thestreaming media service.
 14. The computing system of claim 12, whereinthe functions further comprise: determining that playing back audiocontent on the mobile device would exceed a threshold number of streamsallowed for the given user account.
 15. The computing system of claim14, wherein the threshold number of streams allowed for the given useraccount is one.
 16. The computing system of claim 9, wherein determiningthat the request to play back the audio content on the mobile device isa higher priority than the requests for second audio tracks comprises:determining that the request to play back the audio content on themobile device is an explicit playback command; and determining that therequests for second audio tracks are implicit playback commands, whereinexplicit playback commands are higher priority than implicit playbackcommands.
 17. A tangible, non-transitory computer-readable medium havinginstructions stored thereon that, when executed by one or moreprocessors of a computing system, cause the computing system to performfunctions comprising: receiving, via a network interface, datarepresenting a request to play back a playlist on one or more playbackdevices of a media playback system, wherein the request to playback theplaylist is an explicit playback command; based on the request, causing,via the network interface, the one or more playback devices to play backa given audio track of the playlist, wherein the one or more playbackdevices stream audio tracks of the playlist from one or more remoteservers; while the one or more playback devices are playing back one ormore first tracks of the playlist, receiving, via the network interface,one or more requests for second audio tracks in the playlist, whereinthe one or more requests are implicit playback commands; while the oneor more playback devices are playing back the second audio tracks of theplaylist, receiving, via the network interface, data representing arequest to play back audio content on a mobile device, wherein therequest to play back the audio content is an explicit playback command;determining that the request to play back the audio content on themobile device is a higher priority than the requests for second audiotracks; and based on the determining, switching playback from the one ormore playback devices to the mobile device, wherein switching theplayback comprises: causing playback on the one or more playback devicesto be stopped; and causing, via the network interface, the mobile deviceto play back the audio content, wherein the mobile device streams theaudio content from the one or more remote servers.
 18. The tangible,non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 17, wherein thereceiving the data representing a request to play back audio content ona mobile content comprises receiving data representing a request to playback the playlist on the mobile device.
 19. The tangible, non-transitorycomputer-readable medium of claim 17, wherein the computing systemcomprises the one or more remote servers, and wherein the functionsfurther comprise: streaming the audio tracks of the playlist to the oneor more playback devices; and streaming the audio content to the mobiledevice.
 20. The tangible, non-transitory computer-readable medium ofclaim 17, wherein the request to play back the playlist on the one ormore playback devices of the media playback system and the request toplay back audio content on the mobile device are associated with a givenuser account of a streaming media service, and wherein the given useraccount is authenticated with the computing system, and wherein thefunctions further comprise determining that playing back audio contenton the mobile device would exceed a threshold number of streams allowedfor the given user account.